This question may seem redundant to those who haven’t read many fantasy novels or series. The fantasy genre is so massive that people have begun to split it into manageable chunks to make talking about it far easier. For example, Tolkien and Rowling both write fantasy novels, but that is where the similarities end. So, what types of fantasy are there? And which one is my novel going to fit into? That last question is not going to be answered in this post… so don’t hold your collective breaths.
Low Fantasy
Now, this may seem to be an abnormal place for me to start, but there is a method to my madness… trust me. Low fantasy is a sub-genre of fantasy where the story is set in the real world, the magical or super-natural elements that shock the characters when discovered are simply added to our reality. This type of story has a lot of benefits when it comes to writing. First, you don’t need to create an entire world for your characters to inhabit. Being able to use the real world as a setting makes it far easier to focus on the story and not worry about anything else.
However, there are downsides to writing a book like this. While being able to focus on the story is nice, it also means that you do not have the freedom to do whatever you want as it has to be set in the real world with only very slight changes. This can make for some very interesting story lines, as it allows us to imagine how society today would react if, for example, toys were suddenly revealed to be alive… ‘Toy Story’, if you didn’t get the reference.
High Fantasy
This is the most common sub-genre there is in fantasy. When most people talk about fantasy novels and series, this is what they’re actually talking about. The biggest example of this is obviously the ‘Lord of the Rings’ series by Tolkien. These stories normally take place in a completely made up reality, often with different races and languages than exist here in our reality. This allows for a lot of creativity from the writer as everything is within their control, including the laws of physics. I mean, seriously… how many times are we going to see floating mountains in movies and books.
The issue with writing high fantasy is that what makes it great also happens to be what makes it difficult, the writer makes up everything. This means that, as the writer, you need to come up with everything to do with your world. Readers will notice when you’ve been lazy and just used real world norms because it was easier. This puts a massive burden on a writer when it comes to all the pre-writing activities that need to be done. They need to come up with the names of places, landscapes, countries, kingdoms, role of nobility, magical laws, modes of transportation, travel distances, commerce and economy, cultures, languages, and, of course, a map. This is no simple task for a writer as not only does a writer have to come up with these things, but also needs to have them all make sense when put together in a book.
Magical Realism
Now, this sub-genre is very much like low fantasy. The only difference is the fact that the magical/ super-natural is completely expected. The ‘Harry Potter’ series by Rowling is probably the best example of this. Magic is completely integrated into society and everyone lives with it and uses it just like they use their mobile phones in the normal world. This, in my inexpert opinion, is a combination between the high fantasy and low fantasy sub-genres. The writer is able to have complete freedom when it comes to designing their form of magic while also allowing it to be somewhat based in reality.
There isn’t much else to say about magical realism, but it’s always been a sub-genre that excites me. Being able to imagine what life would be like if there was magic that one could easily use. This is why the ‘Harry Potter’ series was so successful. It’s easy for the reader to imagine themselves in the world that the writer creates, how their life would be different if they could use magic as easily as swiping up on their phone. It’s an extremely attractive sub-genre for an aspiring writer.
Gunpowder Fantasy
I’m sure that most of you have realized that most fantasy novels seem to be set in a time similar to the medieval era. There are often heroes gallivanting around the fictional world with perfectly quaffed hair and a long sword, committing genocide against the unwitting evildoers. This sub-genre simply changes that preconceived notion of what a fantasy novel is by instead setting it in a world where guns exist. Now, this does not mean there AK-47’s everywhere, action novels have this covered. Instead the world would be similar to earth in the late 1700’s to early 1800’s. For those not well versed in dates, think Napoleonic Wars era. And for those not well versed in history… think ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’.
Military Fantasy
Every fantasy fan can relate to liking the big battles that normally occur near the end of most fantasy novels. These battles tend to be the common archetype of the good few against the evil many. But this is not what is meant when we talk about the military fantasy sub-genre. These stories tend to be based around a character who is actually in some form of militaristic structure. There will be many battles in these novels along with many smaller skirmishes. This lends itself to some amazingly gripping action sequences of an epic proportion.
However, in this type of novel your protagonist will not be able to just go off and do as they please. They are a part of an organisation and will have responsibilities that, for the sake of a believable story, cannot and should not be ignored. This means, that as a writer, you have to make sure your characters do not stray too far from the rules set by the military you made up… get it? Simply, it somewhat restricts your freedom as a writer. Which can be a good thing… maybe.
Conclusion
These are only a few of the sub-genres that exist in the world of fantasy. And I have no idea which one my book will fit into. All I know is that I’m not going to expressly stick to only one. The best books I have read have it all. They have the adventure, the battles, and the sense of wonder, all mixed up into one neat little book… the task is terrifying. The sub-genre that your story fits into will be decided by the readers, not you. So just write what you want… if you can figure out what that is.
Post #8: The Need To Be Original
Whenever beginners like me start writing we feel this extreme amount of pressure to be original. How can I write something different from anything else? The answer to this question is, you can’t. It’s impossible. Too many people have written fantasy novels. This means that you shouldn’t even try, just quit trying to be original.…
Post #7: A Novice’s Fantasy Book To-Do List
This topic is going to be another one that people have disagreements over. Fantasy writing is definitely an art form, and no one should argue otherwise. A lot of writers, like Rowling, have a dislike for to-do lists, or simply don’t like using them. However, I do not work well that way. I’ve been in…
Post #6: Perspective
Initially, I was going to combine this topic with the last post on the importance of point of view in fantasy writing. However, after some extensive research (aka. a google search), I have decided that it was a large enough topic to have its own blog post. Now, many people may get confused at the…
A Novice's Befuddled Writing Journey 